No Surrender
by CPD5021George
Summary: Hailey and Jay are suspended, after a suspect in their custody is in a coma.
1. Chapter 1

_Usually I only upload stories that are complete. In this case I'll do it differently, as I can see the end coming. Once again this is an Upstead-Fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it._

It had been a long day. The Intelligence Unit had been on their feet from early morning on, and they had made an arrest. A drug dealer called Richard Johnson. Johnson wasn't a big fish, but the unit hoped he might lead them to a more important gang. Recently bad dope had once again flooded the city and left too many dead.

It was late; most people had already left the 21st Precinct. The night shift was out in the streets, and only a few people still lingered inside. Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton were the only ones from Intelligence still in the office. Jay was doing some online checking, while Hailey had already started interrogating the offender.

She was tired, and when Jay opened the door to the interrogation room, she stood up immediately.

"Jay, we won't get anything out of him today. Let's go home."

"Sure. We'll give it another shot tomorrow," Jay agreed. He turned towards Johnson. "Get up, we'll put you in a nice and warm cell for the night."

Without a word, Johnson got up, and Hailey took his cuffed arms. She led him outside, Jay following. They went downstairs, to the holding cells. Nobody was around. That was a bit strange, Hailey noticed. Usually a police officer should be here. Probably a bathroom break.

Jay opened the cell, Johnson went inside, stretched out his hands to have the cuffs removed. When Jay closed the cell and Hailey had removed the cuffs, they saw a police officer coming down the hallway.

"Good evening, officer," Jay said, not knowing the man. Must be new to the 21st, he assumed.

"Good evening, Sir," the officer answered while walking into another aisle. "Sorry, I was outside for a quick smoke. Everything ok here?"

"Sure. We brought you an overnight guest for room 11. Nothing special." Hailey said. "Good night."

Jay and Hailey returned back upstairs, grabbed their jackets and left for home.

An ordinary day.

* * *

The next morning, Jay and Hailey arrived together. Jay had picked Hailey up; they had breakfast together, as they sometimes did. They were a bit late.

They walked up the stairway chatting and laughing, in a good mood. Yet, when they entered the office, everyone stared at them.

"Halstead, Upton! My office!" Voight barked when he saw them.

Jay looked at Hailey questioningly. She shook her head, shrugged. Neither had any idea what was going on. Adam, Kim and Kevin didn't look at them anymore. They all stared at the floor.

What was going on?

"Shut the door," Voight said, once they were inside his office. "Sit down."

"What is it, Boss?" Hailey asked, irritated.

"I have to ask you that, Upton." Voight answered. "What happened last night?"

"What do you mean?" Jay jumped in. "You know what happened. After you all had left, she finished the interrogation, we brought Johnson downstairs to a holding cell, and we drove home – separately."

"What's going on, Sarge?" Hailey insisted. Something was very wrong. Voight's behavior was... weird.

"Listen, you two. Think very carefully before you answer. IAD will be over here any minute." Voight said.

"Internal Affairs?" Hailey's eyes widened. "Why?"

"Richard Johnson was found outside of the district, by the back entrance, this morning. Beaten to pulp. He's in a coma. And you two are the last ones who saw him." Voight said. "So, tell me again. What happened?"

"Sarge, what do you mean? Do you imply…?" Jay stood up.

"You were the last ones to have contact to Johnson. Johnson's in a coma. Connect the dots."

"But, Sarge!" Hailey yelled incredulously, jumping up from her chair.

"Hailey, it doesn't matter what I think," Voight answered, trying to calm her down. "Fact is, IAD is taking over this case. They see you as a suspect in this case. You interrogated Johnson, and during the interrogation, the surveillance camera was not working for 10 minutes. When it was back on, the room was empty. And nobody saw you or Halstead downstairs."

"Sarge, you can't be serious." Jay was getting angry. "Do you actually think Hailey beat that guy up so badly and then dragged him downstairs? How?"

"Jay, you were there, too."

"So you think I helped Hailey?" Jay shook his head. "No, this is not happening. Come on, Hailey, we'll contact our FOP rep. None of us did anything wrong."

"Jay!" Voight stopped him from storming out of the office. "Internal Affairs will investigate. We'll do all we can."

In that moment, a tall dark-haired woman opened the door and entered Voight's office.

"Sergeant Voight."

"Sergeant Brody," Voight greeted her, then pointed to Jay and Hailey. "These are detectives Upton and Halstead."

"Halstead, Upton, have you been informed?"

"We have been informed that someone beat up Richard Johnson." Jay said coldly. "And that obviously you think we did it."

"Detective Upton actually is a suspect in this case," Brody answered. "She was in the interrogation room with Johnson, switched off the camera, and then probably used a chair to hit him. His wounds match with such a scenario."

"What?" Hailey asked quietly. "Why should I have done that? And what evidence do you have?"

"We will find out the details. Fact is nobody saw Johnson after your interrogation. And this morning he was lying outside of the precinct, beaten into a coma. Detective Upton, until further notice you are suspended. Please hand over your badge and your gun."

Jay stepped closer to Sergeant Brody. "Are you kidding me? This is completely ridiculous. I was there. And I was there when Hailey brought the guy downstairs. We left him in a holding cell. You must be out of your mind."

Now Voight pulled a very angry Jay back. "Jay, calm down."

"No, Sarge, I won't calm down. I don't know what's going on here, but this is…"

"Detective Halstead, keep out of this," Brody said coldly.

"No, I won't keep out of this," Jay yelled, shaking off Voight's hand. "You can't do that to Hailey. I know she did what I just told you, nothing else. I am her partner, and I guarantee she did nothing wrong."

"Well, in that case, you also are a suspect, Detective Halstead. And I have to suspend you too, Detective." Brody decided. "We have enough evidence to place Detective Upton at the scene, and now it seems you are in on this."

Jay angrily removed his badge, pulled his gun out of the holster, slammed both on the table. "This is a joke!" he yelled. "Come on, Hailey, we're leaving."

He took Hailey's hand and pulled her with him.

Voight looked at Brody with an unhappy look on his face. "Was that necessary?"

"Yes, Sergeant, it was." Brody insisted. "We have clear evidence, and we cannot allow Detective Upstead to work on any case before this is clarified. And since Detective Halstead might be in on it, same goes for him. Do you want to object? Please contact my superior officer."

Voight shook his head. "What do you expect me to do, when you suspend two of my best officers? Don't you think we should get a chance to investigate internally?"

"Sergeant Voight, your unit has quite the reputation, and therefore IAD will investigate. You are not allowed to interfere with our investigation. And you are not allowed to contact our suspended detectives. You and your unit will keep out of this. Do I make myself clear?"

"Sergeant Brody, do you think my team would cover something like this up?"

"Do I make myself clear, Sergeant Voight?" Brody repeated. "No investigation by Intelligence, no contact to your suspended detectives."

* * *

Jay and Hailey stormed out of Voight's office, saw their colleagues staring at them.

"You really think we did this?" Jay asked them angrily.

"Jay!" Kim said, getting up. "What's going on?"

"Hailey!" Adam approached them. "Are you ok?

Kevin just stood there, shaking his head.

"We're suspended!" Jay spit out. "We have to go."

Hailey looked at Adam sadly, shrugged. "I have no idea what happened."

"Guys, we will find out, don't worry." Kim reassured them.

"No, you won't." Voight said calmly as he came out of his office with Sergeant Brody. "IAD is taking over."

"But…"

Hailey and Jay grabbed their jackets and went downstairs hastily. Jay very angry, Hailey very quiet and completely perplexed. When they came into the lobby, Trudy Platt called them.

Reluctantly they approached her desk.

"You also think Hailey is responsible?" Jay couldn't calm down.

"Listen," Platt said quietly. "Nobody here thinks either of you is responsible. But we need to keep a low profile. IAD is watching all of us, and we don't know if they have a snitch in the 21st. Here, take this," she handed Hailey a business card. "This is the best FOP lawyer you can get."

"Thank you," Hailey said sadly. "I have no idea what happened," she repeated what she had said to Adam.

"We'll figure that out." Platt reassured here. "Now go home and make a plan. And don't do anything stupid, Halstead."

"Thanks, Trudy," Jay said, now a bit more composed. "See you soon."


	2. Chapter 2

Both Jay and Hailey were too agitated to go to their respective homes, so they drove to a nearby coffee shop to talk.

With an audible sigh, Jay sat down opposite Hailey, pushing one mug with coffee towards her.

Hailey shook her head. "What just happened, Jay?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "Why would anyone blame you for what happened? We need to figure this out, Hailey." He grabbed his coffee, drank, tried to calm down, to think rationally.

"Jay, you didn't have to do this." Hailey said slowly.

"What?"

"Protect me."

"What?" Jay looked more than a bit surprised. "I was there, what do you think I should have done? Stay silent? They would have come to me anyway."

"Jay, I don't need to be protected. And now we're both suspended. How does that help?"

"We can work it out together," Jay said, put a hand on hers for a minute. "We will, Hailey. We will prove that you haven't done this, that we haven't done this. I stand by you because we're partners, remember?"

"OK," Hailey answered quietly. "Thank you, Jay."

They sat together for a while, both silent, drinking their coffee, lost in their thoughts.

After a while, Jay looked up from his mug. "Well, how do we proceed? What do you think?"

"We should contact the FOP lawyer right now. Just to be on the safe side. IAD will call us in very soon." Hailey suggested.

"Let's compile all we know first," Jay objected. "It's better if we have the complete story, and only one story. We don't have to make up anything, but this way we have one complete history to present them, with both our statements."

"OK, you're right. So, let's go to my place, have more coffee and write everything down." Hailey agreed. "That's better than here in public."

Even though Hailey had told Jay that she didn't need to be protected, she was secretly glad that they were in this together. Together with Jay she didn't feel quite so lost. She promised herself she would make it clear to him how much she appreciated his loyalty and his friendship.

* * *

When they arrived at her townhouse, she made a pot of coffee first, then grabbed pens and paper, the old-fashioned way, but had her tablet close by.

Jay grabbed the coffee without thinking about it, and took a notepad and a pen. He started writing down everything he remembered, talked Hailey through it.

Step by step they wrote down the exact timeline of yesterday's events, starting with the arrival in the precinct, covering the arrest, until the interrogation, and to the point where they had put Johnson in the holding cell and left the precinct. They added the names of every person they had encountered during the day, trying to get as many witnesses as possible.

"You remember the name of the police officer downstairs?" Hailey asked. "He is our primary witness. He saw that we left Johnson there." It should be so easy.

Jay shook his head. "No, Hailey. I have no idea what his name is. I've never seen this guy before. I didn't see his name tag either."

"But someone must know who he is." Hailey insisted. "Sergeant Platt must know him."

Jay nodded. "I'll call the precinct."

He called 21st, but was told that Sergeant Platt had already left. And the current desk Sergeant refused to give him any information.

Angrily, Jay put the phone down. "They are not talking to me."

"Try Voight," Hailey suggested.

But their Sergeant didn't pick up either. Neither did Ruzek, Atwater, Burgess.

"What the...?" Jay sighed. "Nobody is talking to us?"

"We will try again later." Hailey tried to calm him down, despite getting nervous again.

* * *

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Both Jay and Hailey flinched; they were so much in their own world that they didn't expect to be disturbed by anyone from the outside world. Hailey shrugged, went to the door, and came back with Sergeant Platt. Trudy had a large bag in her hand, which she put on the table.

"I figured you might need something to eat."

"Sarge, how...?" Jay asked.

"Jay, I thought you two would be together to go over everything. And just as I imagined you hadn't thought about food."

"You're a lifesaver," Hailey grinned. "Thank you."

The bag contained a massive amount of Chinese takeout food, which Hailey spread out on the table. "Anything to drink?"

"You got a beer?" Platt asked, then added "Hey, you didn't think I was leaving right away, did you?"

Jay laughed. "I don't know what I was thinking. We couldn't reach any of you on the phone."

"Brody forbid Voight and the unit to contact you, or to investigate this case." Platt explained.

"What?" Hailey stared at her. This was getting weirder by the minute.

"And that's why I'm here. I'm not Intelligence, so I am allowed to contact you, technically. And even if I were... "

"Why are you doing this, Sarge?" Hailey asked.

"Hailey, you once told me that you became a cop because of me." Platt said. "So in some weird way I feel responsible for you. And Jay – ah well…"

"Thank you, Trudy. Very much appreciated." Jay said with a smile.

"Thanks," Hailey just said.

"So, what do we have?" Trudy asked, back to business.

Both showed her the timeline they had created, the names they had compiled.

"The only name we don't have is the name of this police officer on duty, who was downstairs by the holding cells." Hailey concluded.

"I will have to check that out," Trudy said. "Apart from that everything looks good from my point of view. But this one missing guy is important. Without him, you still don't have an alibi."

"But how could anyone think I – we did this to a suspect?" Hailey asked. "I mean… "

"Hailey, a lot of things have happened in Intelligence," Jay said. "We don't always solve our cases by the book. I get it we don't have the best reputation."

"But we wouldn't solve anything if we beat a guy half to death," Hailey said. "We wanted to get information out of him, not kill him."

"I know," Trudy said. "And the whole thing is ridiculous. Someone obviously is after you. So start thinking who might have a reason to get you out of the way."

"Oh, I can think of quite a few." Hailey laughed bitterly.

"We all do," Jay said. "But that's definitely something we need to follow up on. Not today, though."

"Listen, you two," Trudy said. "It's late, and I need to go home to Mouch. Make sure you memorize everything you wrote down here, so that you don't contradict each other when IAD talks to you. Get that lawyer. I will check for this officer's name. Anything that happens, call me. We'll figure this out."

Having said this, she stood up and left Jay and Hailey alone.

Both remained at the table, silently drinking their beer. They hadn't noticed that it was already almost midnight.

After a while Hailey looked at Jay, put her hand on his arm. "Thank you, Jay. I'm glad you're in this with me."

"Always, partner," he answered with a soft smile, which turned into yawning. "Sorry, Hailey. It's late."

"Hey, do you want to crash on my couch? You've had too many beers already to drive."

That was new indeed, Jay thought. "Sure, if you don't mind."

"Better than getting stopped for DUI." Hailey laughed. "I'll get you a blanket."


	3. Chapter 3

Jay slept surprisingly well on Hailey's couch, and he only woke up when he heard her moving around in the living room. He stretched, enjoying the half-awake/half-asleep state he was in, feeling pretty good. Until he remembered why he was here. He opened his eyes and sat up, still not wanting to face reality.

"Good morning, sunshine," Hailey greeted him. "Did you sleep well?"

"Perfect. I don't want to wake up," he murmured. "But the coffee smells great."

Hailey smiled. "Breakfast is ready in a few minutes. Bathroom's free."

"Wonderful," Jay smiled back. "How did I deserve this?"

"You're here, that's why."

They smiled at each other briefly again, before Jay stood up and vanished into the bathroom.

Hailey was glad that Jay was there, that her partner and friend was standing by her side. She had realized that during the night. She had expected be wide-awake all night long, but Jay's presence calmed her down more than she would have expected. And she was determined to show him, instead of pushing him away, the way both of them tended to do too often.

They had breakfast in companionable peace, both being very much aware that the day would become tough, but not wanting to give in to that just yet.

Hailey's phone disturbed their peace too soon, however.

It was Trudy Platt. Hailey put the phone on speaker.

"So your knight in shining armor is still there?" she remarked.

Hailey just chuckled, while Jay rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Good morning, Sarge," Hailey said. "Any news in 21st?"

"Your friends say hi," Trudy said. "Of course they aren't allowed to, but when has Intelligence ever cared about that."

But her joking tone changed. "Listen, Hailey. I cannot find the police officer you are talking about. Technically Pat Lloyd should have been in that night, but he was off sick. The name written down here is hard to read, it can be Armstrong, but that's all. We don't have an officer Armstrong in 21st. "

"So we have no witness. But who was this guy?" Jay mused. "What about the camera in the interrogation room?"

"IAD reviewed the footage, but everything seems pretty normal. Except for the 10 minutes when it was switched off."

"But I didn't switch off any camera." Hailey protested. "Someone must have tampered with it. And how did they know when would be the right time?"

"Your friends, those who shouldn't investigate, are checking it with an IT guy. Under the radar." Trudy answered quietly, then her voice got louder. "And that's all I can say right now. I hope I could help, Ma'am."

Jay and Hailey looked at each other.

"What is happening?" Jay finally asked. "Who was this guy we saw? And why…?"

"Jay, this is staged, clearly."

"I know. But why does IAD believe them?"

"Because our story isn't airtight," Hailey said. "If you just follow the evidence, we are suspects."

"Only, we know we didn't do anything wrong. We need the team."

"But we don't have it, Jay." Hailey answered. "We can't risk that anyone else gets into trouble. We're in this alone, with Sergeant Platt."

"I can't believe Voight just lets this go," Jay said.

"I'm sure he doesn't. But we can't tell what we don't know.."

* * *

Later than planned, they finally called their FOP lawyer and agreed to meet in his office in the afternoon. Shortly after this, both received the dreaded phone calls from IAD. Their hearings were scheduled for the next day, one at 10, the other at 11.

As they had a few more hours before meeting the lawyer, Jay decided to drive home to change his clothes. Perhaps he would make a better impression on the lawyer if he didn't wear the clothes he had slept in. Also, he wanted to give Hailey some space. It felt good to spend private time with her, but he figured they both needed some time to think the whole thing through on their own. Still, he drove home reluctantly, promising Hailey to pick her up later.

Hailey understood Jay's intentions perfectly well, and in a way, she was glad to have a few hours to herself. She usually cherished time alone. Yet, when Jay had left, she felt – lost. Her living room felt empty without him.

"That must be the circumstances," she decided, shook her head. Not quite knowing what to do with herself, she cleaned up the place, then took a long shower, wrote all their notes on her laptop, printed out a few copies, and waited. Of course, once she sat down, her mind began racing again. What had happened yesterday? Why had it happened? What could she do? What if she couldn't prove that she was innocent? Suddenly she felt like a criminal, and that was not a good feeling. Like an old Hitchcock movie, suddenly she was a suspect, even though she had done nothing wrong. The world seemed to have ganged up on her. She swallowed hard to keep the panic at bay. This was not like her, not at all. She usually was so composed, but right now, she had to try her best not to lose it.

Therefore, she was thankful when Jay was at her door again. They hugged briefly, before he entered.

"You ok?" he asked, concerned.

"Yeah… no, I'm not, Jay," she admitted.

"Same here," Jay quietly said. He closed the door behind himself and pulled her into another, closer hug. "Everything will be good, Hailey. I promise."

Hailey took a long, deep breath, finding surprising comfort in Jay's arms.

* * *

Together they drove to the lawyer's office across town. Both were unusually quiet. At least they didn't have to wait for the lawyer. As soon as they arrived, they were asked to enter Gene Potter's office.

"Thank you for seeing us on such short notice," Jay said.

"Sure. You're friends of Trudy's." Potter answered. "And if she says you need my help, then I'll help. I don't usually take cases myself anymore. But yours sounds … interesting. Do you want some coffee? And then please tell me exactly what happened."

Both accepted the coffee, then Hailey pulled out a copy of their notes, handed them to Potter. "This might help. We wrote down everything that happened. Two days ago, we made an arrest, and Jay, Detective Halstead, and I were the last ones in the office. I interrogated the suspect, and when Detective Halstead had finished his work, he joined me. We brought the suspect downstairs, put him in a holding cell. This was witnessed by a police officer, who seems to have vanished into thin air. We left. And that's all. The next day, when we came into the precinct, IAD accused us, respectively me, of beating up the suspect, who was found right outside the back of the precinct, and he's in a coma. And I have no evidence to prove my innocence."

"And Detective Halstead? Why is he suspended?"

"I was there. I told IAD that they were wrong, and that I was the witness they required. But instead of believing me, they told me I'm a suspect too, that we both did this thing together. So, I'm suspended, too. Because I stand by my partner."

Potter looked at both of them, had a quick look into the papers. "I see the camera in the interrogation room was switched off. And the police officer, who would be your witness, is gone. This is tough."

"Do you at least believe us?" Hailey wanted to know.

"Usually it doesn't matter if I believe you," Potter answered slowly. "But if Sergeant Platt believes you, so do I. I have never met a person with a better judgement of people than Trudy. What do you think? Why are you suspects? Who beat up Johnson?"

"We still need to figure that out." Jay said. "My only idea is that someone is after Hailey, Detective Upton. And we need to find out who. Unfortunately, our unit is not allowed to investigate. Something else I don't understand. But we need to check out Johnson, his connections, and all angles of this."

Potter nodded. "If your unit is not allowed to help, you must do this on your own. All the evidence against you is circumstantial, not enough for a conviction. Nevertheless, your jobs are in danger, you know. But we'll do all we can. I promise. I will have my people investigate this too. When's your hearing with IAD?"

"Tomorrow at 10 and 11."

"I will be there. Make sure you memorize what you wrote down. Make sure you won't react to any provocation. Stay calm."

"We have been in hearings before, we both know the drill." Hailey remarked.

"But have they been as crucial as these? Don't take it too lightly." Potter warned them. "Someone wants your badge, Detective Upton. And you, Detective Halstead, you are just collateral damage. I can't tell you not to worry. It's serious. But we'll fight for you."

"Thank you," Jay answered. "We will try to find out more until the hearing. Perhaps something pops up, some hint."

They left, not exactly relieved.

"My place?" Hailey asked.

"If you want me to come."

"Please Jay, I'll go crazy when I'm alone."

Jay smiled sadly. "No, you won't. But I have to admit, I'd rather not be alone either." He nodded towards the back of his truck. "See that?"

His dress uniform, for the hearing tomorrow, was in the back.

Hailey laughed briefly. "So you planned to stay on my couch again?"

"I figured we both might be more comfortable." He looked doubtful for a second. "But if it's too much for you..."

"No, Jay. It would be a relief to know you're close."


	4. Chapter 4

_Thank you all so much for your very positive reviews. That really motivates me to continue writing. The story slowly unfolds, I hope you like this new chapter. More to come soon_

They spent the late afternoon and evening much like the one before. First going through the information they had, thinking through all possible angles, checking a lot of things on the internet. After her shift, Trudy Platt joined them once again.

"How did your meeting with Potter go?"

"As well as can be expected," Hailey said, sounding not confident. "I think he believes me, us, but he's not too optimistic."

"That's how he is. He doesn't make false promises," Trudy explained.

"How's the unit?" Jay wanted to know.

"Not great. They have some smaller assignments, so at least they can investigate under the radar. But so far they haven't found out a lot. They worry about you two."

Jay looked down, nodded.

"There's one other strange thing," Trudy said. "Not only was the camera in the interrogation room switched off, but the cameras in the hallway by the holding cells were out of order as well."

"What?" Hailey was surprised. They hadn't even thought about the cameras down there. It would have helped identifying Officer "Armstrong".

"I didn't think of it at first, either," Trudy continued. "My bad. When I checked earlier today, I saw that one camera faced a corner with nothing to see, and the other was broken. And nobody had noticed. It's getting more and more bizarre."

"Someone tampered with these cameras as well," Jay added. "Did Ruzek have a chance to look into it?"

"Adam's working on it. Our theory that someone is after Hailey seems more and more realistic. We need to find out who it is. Hailey, do you have any idea who it could be?"

"No more than yesterday," Hailey answered. "There must be quite a few people in prison that hate me."

"Think about that." Trudy suggested, then looked at Jay. "You watch out for her, ok?"

"I will, Sarge. I will." Jay looked back at her very earnestly.

"And watch out for yourself, Jay, ok? I will see you both tomorrow before the hearing."

"Thank you, Trudy. It means a lot." Jay answered.

"Yeah, yeah, forget it," she brushed it off.

When Trudy had left, Jay and Hailey spent the rest of the evening alone, talking about all their findings, about what to do, about what would and could happen. They would beat this, they would return to Intelligence. They would not surrender, not give up.

* * *

The next morning was not as relaxed as the one before. Both were nervous because of their hearings, therefore they didn't talk too much during breakfast. Both wore their dress uniforms, then drove to the hearing together.

Trudy Platt and Hank Voight were already waiting for them in front of the meeting room, where the hearing would take place. They walked faster.

"Sarge, Boss, thank you for coming," Hailey greeted them, Jay following.

"Are you called in, too?" Jay asked.

"No," Voight answered. "We're here to see how you are doing."

"Are you allowed to?" Hailey wanted to know. "Brody said you weren't allowed to contact us."

"I don't care what Brody said," Voight said. "I'm here to see how you two are holding up."

"As good as can be expected," Jay answered. "Still trying to figure out what's behind all this."

Voight nodded, grumbling. "I know. We're on it. Listen, Jay. I can't stay long. Trudy will be your primary contact. We'll let you know what we find out. "

"Thank you, Sarge," Hailey answered.

"Appreciated," Jay added. "Very much."

"We'll see you soon. Good luck." Voight turned around and left.

* * *

Ten minutes before Hailey's hearing Potter arrived, unfortunately without further news. By now, Hailey was really nervous, found it hard to keep her composure. It was actually a relief when she was called inside.

Sergeant Brody and a few other officials greeted her. All were polite, but nothing more, not friendly.

"Detective Upton, you know why you are here?" Brody asked her.

"Yes, I do." Hailey just said.

"You are aware that you are a suspect in the Richard Johnson case? Mr. Johnson was found beaten up outside of precinct 21, two nights ago. You and Detective Halstead were the last to see him."

"Just because they were the last to see him doesn't mean they did this," Potter remarked. "Why should the Detectives have done that?"

"Because Richard Johnson had crossed paths with Detective Upton before." Brody answered coldly. "Didn't you mention that, Detective?"

"I am not aware of this."

"Detective Upton, eight years ago, Ms Liz Regan died of an overdose. Do you remember that?"

"Yes, of course." Hailey was irritated. "I knew her."

"She was a friend of yours. And you and your unit arrested Mr. Johnson, who had sold her those drugs."

"I remember that we arrested someone, but forgive me if I don't remember the details," Hailey slowly said. "If I remember correctly, my Sergeant made that arrest."

"And Richard Johnson was not accused of murder, only of drug distribution. So he came out of prison relatively soon. Half a year ago. Your former Sergeant knew that. And since then you have been waiting for a chance for payback."

"What?" Hailey couldn't keep calm anymore. "That should be my motive? That's ridiculous. I didn't even remember who he was."

"It is a strong motive," Brody answered. "And who says you didn't remember?"

"Sergeant Brody," Potter said, while putting his hand on Hailey's arm to calm her down. "All evidence against Detective Upton and Detective Halstead is circumstantial, the motive is very weak. Why does IAD not follow any other leads?"

"Because this lead is all we have at the moment."

The hearing went on for a while, but nothing else came up. Before she knew it, Hailey was outside again. She didn't have the time to talk to Jay, only looked at him, they briefly hugged, and she was alone with Trudy Platt. She sat down next to Trudy, looked down, and only then she noticed that her hands were shaking.

Without a word, Trudy put her hands over Hailey's and left them there for a few minutes, until Hailey had calmed down.

Meanwhile Brody interrogated Jay, asking once again what happened that night. Jay remained calm, answered the questions, but nothing more. Brody didn't mention Hailey's connection to Johnson. Jay's interrogation was over quickly, mainly because he was only an "accessory". He was out within half an hour.

Trudy and Hailey stood up as soon as they saw him.

"What did they say?" Trudy asked.

"Let's get out of here," Jay just said. "Hailey, you ok?"

"I don't know," she admitted.

"Come on, let's grab a sandwich and a coffee," Trudy said. "We need to talk."

* * *

Half an hour later, they sat down in a coffee shop, and they talked.

"Now, tell me exactly what they asked you, and what you found out today," Trudy demanded to know.

"It seems I have a motive," Hailey said. She had been very quiet on the way, so Jay heard this for the first time, too. He looked surprised, and worried.

"Turns out, Johnson sold bad dope to someone I knew, several years ago. This person died. We arrested Johnson."

"And how did you not remember that?" Jay asked.

"IAD made it out as if this person had been a close friend," Hailey explained. "Well, I knew her, but we weren't close. And it wasn't me who arrested Johnson, just my team. I might have seen him, but you all know how it is. We see and arrest so many people, and only few stand out. He did not. But for IAD this – and the fact that I failed to mention it – is even more evidence against me." She dropped her head, swallowed hard.

Jay shook his head. "This is so wrong," he whispered. "If I only knew what we can do."

"There is something you might find interesting," Trudy stepped in. "I didn't tell you before, because you needed to be focused during the hearing. But there might be a connection to someone you know, Hailey."

"Who?" both Hailey and Jay asked at the same time.

"Ronald Booth."

Hailey stared at Trudy with wide eyes.

"Johnson was in the same cell block as Booth. And they had some beef. Therefore, we assume Booth wanted to kill two birds with one stone. Johnson and you."

"But he didn't know my real name," Hailey weakly protested.

"I know. I checked the name Armstrong in the system, however." Trudy continued. "And guess what: There is a man named Armstrong with a connection to Booth. Look at this photo, please." She took out her phone and showed them a photo.

Jay nodded immediately. "Yes, that's the guy. The officer we saw that night."

"See," Trudy grinned unhappily. "And that's Joe Armstrong. A former cop, a dirty cop. He worked for Booth. He had never worked in 21st, so nobody recognized him. Obviously, he still had access to our databases, and found you. I'm pretty sure he looked you up for Booth. And then he tampered with the cameras, beat up Johnson, and could blame everything on you. So you might lose your badge."

"I don't believe it," Hailey sighed. "Booth, always Booth."

Jay put his hand on her shoulder. "But now we know who's behind it," he comforted her. "And we can follow these leads. We'll get him. And we'll get our badges back."

Suddenly Hailey's phone rang. She answered the call, and her face turned pale.

"What is it?" Jay asked, alarmed.

"Chief Bowden called. My house..." Hailey whispered. "There was a fire."


	5. Chapter 5

_And here's the next chapter. I promise to upload more over the next few days, as my writing is slowly coming to an end. I hope you enjoy this chapter. The next one will be a bit lighter than this._

* * *

Hailey didn't even remember going back to her house. Jay drove as fast as he could, clearly worried, and he didn't even try to calm her down.

Police and fire department were already there. Hailey jumped out of the car and ran towards the house, before Jay could even park the car.

Chief Bowden held Hailey up, when she wanted to run inside.

"Detective Upton, stay here," he calmly said. "You can't go in there just yet."

Jay stood next to her. He saw Kelly Severide coming out of the house, and ran towards him.

"Kelly, what happened?"

"Jay," Kelly said, slightly out of breath. "Don't worry, the fire's out. No major damage."

"Do you know what happened?"

Kelly shook his head. "We'll check further. But right now it looks as if some electrical appliance was switched on."

"No, that is impossible," Jay answered. "I was there, we switched everything off before we left. I know that for a fact."

Jay felt Hailey's hand on his arm, looked at her. "You ok?"

"No, I'm not."

"Hailey, the fire's out. Nothing too bad." Kelly explained. "It was confined to the kitchen."

"Thank you, Kelly." Hailey acknowledged him. "Do you know…?"

"Not yet. But we'll check it out."

"Let me know when you do that," Jay requested. "Would you please investigate personally? And let me join you?"

"Sure, Jay."

They stood in front of the house silently for a while.

Intelligence was at the scene too, and by now they had noticed Hailey and Jay. All came running towards them.

Adam approached Hailey, pulled her into a big hug. "You ok, darlin'?" he asked.

Jay looked at this and felt a slight sting, which he tried to shake off. Not the time for misplaced jealousy. Hailey nodded, then pushed Adam back a bit. "I'm good, Adam. Thank you."

"Hey, if you need anything…"

"I know, Adam." Hailey smiled at him while pulling out of his embrace softly. She appreciated his concern, didn't want to hurt him, but felt a bit uncomfortable. She glanced at Jay, who was standing close behind her.

Voight and the others approached too; Hailey and Jay said hello to colleagues and friends.

They all stood together, discussing what had happened.

"It seems the person that wants your badge has more plans for you," Voight said.

"Sergeant Platt said it might be Booth," Hailey said quietly.

"There is a connection, yes." Voight confirmed.

"It fits. He's extremely intelligent and dangerous," Hailey said. "And he definitely has it in for me."

"And that means we will investigate," Voight decided. "IAD will not keep us out of it any longer. Hailey, you have a place to stay?"

"Yes, Sarge." Hailey felt Jay's hand softly squeeze her shoulder. That was confirmation enough for her.

Bowden came back to the group. "Detective Upton, the fire is out. We need to check your house thoroughly for any substantial damage, and you will have to do some refurbishing before you move back in, but you can go inside and grab some private things, if you want to. Joe Cruz will go inside with you."

"Thank you, Chief," she answered. "Can Detective Halstead come too?"

"Of course he can."

"Hailey, we'll go back to 21st. We'll see you there in the morning." Voight suggested.

* * *

Together with Joe Cruz, Jay and Hailey entered the house. It smelled of smoke, the walls and furniture were covered in grime, it didn't look very promising. Joe guided them upstairs, where it looked a bit better. Yes, she would have a lot of work when this was over. As the bedroom door had been closed, it looked pretty much ok in there. Only the smell of smoke lingered. Quickly Hailey grabbed two bags, threw clothing and essential bathroom stuff inside. Before they headed down again, she stopped at her nightstand, grabbed her tablet computer and a book, and then she was done. She looked around, not sure when she'd be able to move back in again. If she had forgotten anything important, Jay could get it for her when he returned with Severide, she decided. She wanted out, now.

Carefully Joe guided them back downstairs, checking the stairs with each step. He didn't allow them to enter the kitchen area, where the fire had started. This would have to wait for another day. Jay made a mental note to talk to Kelly again, to make absolutely sure he would be in on the investigation.

When they were back on the street, most cars had left already. It was late afternoon. Trudy Platt and Intelligence were gone, so was one of the fire trucks. Only Bowden and Kelly stood outside waiting for them.

"Our team is securing the house," Bowden explained. "They will make sure the fire is out, and nobody can get in. And we will get the arson investigators to review it."

"With…" Jay started, but Kelly interrupted him.

"Chief, I will perform the investigation. With Jay."

"OK, do that."

"I'll call you tomorrow, buddy," Kelly said before turning around back to his work.

Jay and Hailey were alone now.

"So, anywhere you want to go?"

"No, just change out of the dress uniform."

"Let's head home then."

"That would be great." Hailey agreed. "And Jay, thanks for letting me stay at your place."

"Did I say that?" he laughed, but turned serious again quickly. "Anytime, partner."

* * *

On the way to Jay's house, Hailey was unusually quiet. Jay understood and didn't try to start a conversation. They would talk this through, but not now.

Hailey was grateful that Jay understood. Her thoughts were in turmoil, once again. Booth? That was such a scary thought. She had faced him twice, and she knew how dangerous he was. Until now he had only known her undercover identity, and he was in jail, so she had considered herself safe from him. But that had changed today. He knew who she was, he knew where she lived. And he had people outside of jail that still worked for him. Did he know who Jay was and where he lived? Would Jay be a target too, because of their friendship?

They would need Intelligence to get to the bottom of this, and to make sure neither Booth nor his friends would ever come close to her again.

When they arrived at Jay's house, both looked around thoroughly, checked the surroundings. Nothing suspicious so far. Inside, Jay brought Hailey's bags into his bedroom.

"You take the bedroom, I'll take the couch," he decided. "Now take your time to make yourself at home, change, take a shower if you want to. I'll be in the living room." Jay grabbed some clothes for himself, then left the bedroom.

Exhausted, Hailey sat down on the bed. This morning she had felt lost, but that was nothing compared to how she felt now. Lost, homeless, scared. She was afraid of Booth, she was aware of that. Yet, she couldn't let this fear dominate her. She would have to overcome it, to finish this. She had the whole unit by her side, and together they would get Booth and his accomplices. She breathed heavily, and very slowly her optimism returned, bit by bit.

* * *

Jay changed in the living room, patiently waiting for Hailey. She needed some time to herself now. It was bad enough that she had been suspended, but now her house, her home had been attacked. And to make things worse, it was Booth's work. This was a lot to take in. Anyone else would have panicked completely, Jay thought, and he would have understood if Hailey had buried herself in bed for the rest of the day. But that was not who she was. She would fight this. She just needed some time. He was relieved that she accepted his offer to stay at his place, to let him help her.

Hailey didn't take as long as Jay had expected, she joined him in the living room after less than an hour, dressed in comfortable pants and a shirt.

Jay had ordered a pizza, so they spent the evening with beer and pizza. They didn't talk that much, however. Hailey still needed to process all that happened, and Jay didn't think it would be a good idea to push her. She would talk to him, if she needed to. He knew that. Until then he would simply be there.


	6. Chapter 6

In the morning, Hailey and Jay drove to the precinct, finally feeling welcome there again. Voight already waited for them, with both their badges and guns.

"Good to have you back," he said.

"Are we officially back in?" Jay asked suspiciously.

"IAD sent these over, so yes. They came to their senses."

"Good." Hailey said, taking her badge and her gun. "Good to be back here. So I'm not a suspect anymore?"

"In my book you have never been," Voight answered. Now let's get to work."

Their case was number one priority for Intelligence now. As soon as the team was complete, they went through all the information they had gathered so far.

A photo of Booth, one of Armstrong, one of Johnson were up on the whiteboard. Also one of Hailey's house.

She shivered briefly when she saw all that. Although she was used to seeing pictures of criminals and victims on the whiteboard, it was a completely different thing when you were the victim.

Determined, she shook the shiver off, noticing how Jay had been watching her. They exchanged a quick smile.

As they started collecting information, Sergeant Brody entered with Trudy Platt. She stepped towards Hailey and Jay.

"Detective Upton, I am deeply sorry for what happened to your house." Brody said. "The investigation against you and Detective Halstead is closed. Intelligence will take over the case. You are officially reinstated, both of you."

"Thank you, Sergeant Brody," Hailey only answered. Jay nodded at her.

"We will transfer our files concerning the case to your computer, Sergeant Voight," Brody added, looking at Hank Voight.

Having said that, Brody walked down the staircase, back to her own office.

It felt as if the whole office sighed with relief.

Trudy smiled weakly. "A proper apology was too much to expect, I assume," she remarked.

"I'm glad it's over," Hailey said. "Now we can concentrate on the case. Thank you again for your support, Sergeant Platt."

"Sure. I'll leave you to your work. Anything I can help with, just call me."

* * *

Shortly afterwards Jay received a phone call from Kelly. He was driving to Hailey's house to investigate the cause of the fire.

"Sarge, Severide…" Jay started, but Voight interrupted him immediately.

"Go, Jay."

With one last look at Hailey, Jay ran downstairs.

He met Kelly outside of Hailey's place. They would perform the arson investigation on their own. Jay was determined to find out what really happened. He knew it wasn't an accident, and they would prove it.

"Thanks for letting me join, Kelly."

"Sure, Jay. I need a good second pair of eyes anyway."

Kelly carefully broke the seal to Hailey's house, and both entered. It was cold, smelled of smoke, and looked quite sad. The usually nice, friendly hallway was dark and dirty. Jay decided to check out the first floor later, to have an idea how bad the damage was up there.

Right now he followed Kelly; after all he was the expert. Kelly thoroughly checked every bit of the kitchen, where the fire had started. On the counter he saw a coffee machine and a toaster, both were half melted from the heat. The area around these items looked the worst, so probably the fire had started here. Kelly crouched on the floor, then pointed towards a darker spot on the ground.

"Jay, here's something interesting. It could be an accelerant. I'll take a sample to have it investigated. And the wall is burned badly here, definitely the origin of the fire is somewhere around here."

"So we need to find out if someone entered by force." Jay concluded. "That would be more evidence. I'll check the doors and the windows."

"OK, I'll look for more evidence in here," Kelly agreed.

The front door looked normal, so did the windows towards the street, Jay discovered. Carefully he made his way to the back of the house. As the windows and the back door were covered in grime and dirt, it wasn't easy to see anything, but in the end Jay found a window with traces of breaking and entering. There were tiny scratches, but those were enough. Clearly, someone had pushed the window open and entered the house this way. Jay made photos and forwarded everything to Intelligence. The tech guys would have to check the window for prints later on.

Afterwards Jay and Kelly went upstairs. There the damage wasn't as bad. The hallway was dark as well, everything standing here would have to be replaced. But the rooms were ok, as the doors had been closed. At least this.

When they were both done, they drove to 21st.

* * *

In the meantime, Kevin and Kim had been outside, checking the surroundings of Hailey's place. They tried to find witnesses for the time of the fire. Adam and Hailey were checking out data on police computers.

When they were alone, Adam rolled his chair across the room to Hailey's desk.

"You ok, Hailey?" he asked.

"Yes, Adam. As much as can be expected." Hailey answered with a sad smile.

"Listen, darlin'. If there's anything I can do, you let me know, ok?"

"Thanks Adam. But I guess I'm good. All of you already helped a lot. You believed in me."

"Of course. You know that we didn't doubt you for a second." Adam grinned. "Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yes, I do, Adam. No need to worry."

"Jay?"

"Yes, Jay. He's got a nice, comfy sofa." Hailey smiled. "You see, I'm good. And it won't be long before I can move back in to my house."

Adam smiled back at Hailey sadly. "I'm glad you're ok. And that Jay's by your side. But whenever you need anything…"

"I know, Adam. Thank you so much." Hailey briefly touched his arm. "It means a lot."

"Yeah."

"We found traces of breaking and entering," Jay told the team. "And Kelly found an accelerant. Seems we have enough evidence that the fire was not an accident but deliberately started. I'll bet 100 bucks that Armstrong is involved."

"I'll bring the sample I took to our tech guys, and we will know more latest tomorrow," Kelly added.

* * *

Not long after Jay had returned to the office, they received the results for the fingerprints from the window. The crime techs had found two separate sets of fingerprints, much to Jay's surprise. It was weird that these professional criminals, who tried to blame the whole thing on Hailey, had left their prints out in the open. Or had they expected the house to burn down to the ground?

One set of prints belonged to Armstrong, the other was not in in the database.

Also, the sample Kelly had taken was in fact an accelerant. It should have burned completely, but it seemed Armstrong wasn't a good arsonist at all. The fire didn't do as much damage as expected, and the house was still standing. Probably he had used insufficient accelerant? Or didn't choose the best spot?

Good for Hailey.

Tomorrow they would continue working on the Armstrong angle. They needed to find him. And they would dig deeper into Booth and his connections.

* * *

When they returned to Jay's place, both Hailey and Jay felt slightly better than the days before. Finally they were back with Intelligence, finally things were moving forward, they had some control again. They prepared for a quiet evening with some TV and just a little bit of talking.

Still, that plan was history, when the doorbell rang.

Jay opened the door to look into the faces of his unit. Voight, Ruzek, Atwater, Burgess, and Trudy Platt – with several six-packs of beer and a selection of take-away food, both Mexican and Chinese.

"I had a feeling you're both here," Voight said, when he saw Hailey sitting on Jay's couch.

"We thought you might like some company," Kevin said. "It's time we lighten up your mood."


	7. Chapter 7

_[Two chapters today - I just wanted to post this one quickly. Hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoyed writing these scenes]_

Jay woke up in his bed early the next morning, slowly and reluctantly. He lay on his side, unwilling to move, or to get up. It felt comfortable. But wait... Wasn't he supposed to sleep on the couch? Hailey should have slept in his bed.

Suddenly he noticed something. He wasn't alone in his bed. What the…? What had happened? Why was he in his bed, and why wasn't he alone? And who…?

Hailey. It could only be Hailey. He knew for a fact that the others had left at some point, and who else would he even consider to share his bed with?

Wait... he didn't wear any clothes. Not a stitch. And he was pretty sure what he felt touching his back was naked skin, too. He felt blood rush to his head.

What had he done? What should he do? Would it be possible to sneak out of the bedroom and pretend nothing happened? But then again… why should he?

Bit by bit it came back to him.

_Their friends made themselves comfortable in his living room. All had some beer and food. Voight and Platt left early, clearly indicating that they wanted to give the youngsters some time alone, without the boss. It was a fun evening. They were all very relaxed, talked, cracked stupid jokes, didn't talk about the case at all. They drank some beer, but only enough to loosen up slightly, nobody was actually drunk. It was good to spend the evening in company. _

_Jay and Hailey sat on the couch, next to each other. During the evening Jay's arm, which had originally been on the back of the couch, slid deeper down, rested on Hailey's shoulders. She was more relaxed than the last days, he noticed. She leaned into his arm, it seemed to give her some feeling of security. _

_At some point Kevin, Kim and Adam left; Jay and Hailey stayed on the couch. Suddenly it was very quiet. Jay didn't want Hailey to start brooding, so he decided to stand up, do something – anything. However, that didn't go as planned. He stumbled and fell back on the couch heavily. The couch shook. _

_Hailey flinched in surprise, but after a split second she started laughing. "What are you trying to do, Halstead? Want us to sit on the floor?"_

"_Whatever I tried to do, it worked," Jay grinned at her smiling face. _

_Both tried to get up, but as they were both giggling now, it didn't work out at all. They couldn't stop laughing. All the pressure of the last days was forgotten for a moment. The case was still open, but they knew they would solve it. They still had their jobs. It felt good; it felt good just to laugh it off._

_But when Jay looked into Hailey's laughing face, he saw tears. He stopped. "Hailey, you ok?"_

_She nodded. "Yes, Jay. It's just…. Everything."_

_Without thinking, he moved in closer, placed his lips on hers, kissed her. At first Hailey was too surprised to react, but just in the moment when Jay decided to pull back, she put her arms around his neck, held his face close to hers, and answered his kiss. Her hands moved to his head, caressing his short hair. Jay wrapped her in his arms, pulling her body closer towards his. Both had been waiting for this, yet had been too scared, cautious to act on their feelings. The alcohol had made it easier, but it wasn't the reason for their kiss. _

_Slowly Hailey's hands moved down, pulled his shirt up, over his head. Jay growled softly, stood up, pulling her with him. He took her hand, then they walked to his bedroom. _

That's how Hailey had ended up in his bed. Jay smiled as he remembered last night. It had been amazing.

He had never admitted to himself what he felt for Hailey until now, and he was still unsure if she felt the same for him.

However, one scared voice inside him told him that he had taken advantage of her, of her vulnerability in this whole situation. That he had lured her into his place to get what he wanted. Would she see it like that?

On the other hand – the way she had kissed him, had touched him – that didn't feel like a woman who was pushed to do something she didn't want. And not once had she told him to stop, neither with words nor with actions. On the contrary.

No, Jay decided, he would not try to sneak out of the bedroom. He wanted to be with Hailey, he would not ruin this.

Slowly he turned towards her. She was still sleeping, lying on her back, her blonde hair spread across the pillow, she looked relaxed, with a smile on her face. Jay smiled, softly touched her cheek, leaned in to kiss her. Hailey opened her eyes. No sign of surprise or shock, Jay noticed with relief.

"Hey," she just said, smiling at him.

He kissed her again, leaned back, looked at her. "Hailey, I hope I didn't …"

She put a finger on his lips. "Shhh, Jay."

"The night was amazing," he whispered.

"Yes, it was." She turned towards him, caressed his chest and kissed him.

* * *

A long time later, they lay close to each other, her head on his chest, his arm firmly around her shoulders. Exhausted and happy.

"So…" Jay started. "How do we play this?"

"With us or with the unit?" Hailey asked.

"Both. Do we tell them?"

"Is there something to tell?" Hailey asked back, a bit insecure. "Do you want us to be something to tell them about?"

"Oh, definitely," Jay smiled. "Don't you?"

"Of course, Jay."

"Good, you had me worried for a second."

She ran her hand across his chest. "Don't worry, Jay. You know me, I'd rather keep this a secret. But from experience I suggest we don't. They'll find out anyway. I'd rather be in control, and also I want to show the world what a gorgeous boyfriend I have."

Jay smiled. "I'm much too happy to hide anything anyway."

"So," Hailey smiled. "Nothing good comes out of a workplace relationship, right?"

Jay laughed. "I'm determined to prove myself wrong this time."

"I just hope…" Hailey slowly started. "You know, after Adam… will I have that kind of reputation?"

"I have no idea, to be honest," Jay said, instantly picking up her worries. "But… you know, a guy would probably not even think about that. So why do you?"

"Because women get a bad rep much faster."

"We'll show everyone that this is for real, that we are in it for the long run." Jay answered. "It's the second workplace romance in this unit for both of us, so we know where the trapdoors are. And… Hailey, it's us. It's not some fling, some heat-of-the-moment thing. It feels so right, so absolutely right. And," he grinned. "If anyone gives you a hard time, they'll have to answer to me."

"My knight in shining armor. Isn't that what Platt called you?" Hailey laughed. "Yes, it feels right. Totally."

"Do you want to tell Adam?" Jay felt a bit of insecurity himself. "What do you think? Will he…"

"Adam knows, I'm sure." Hailey just said. "Jay, he understands much more than you give him credit for. But I'll talk to him anyway. And … just to show everyone that our relationship doesn't affect our work, we should perhaps make sure we're not excessively late."

Jay laughed. "Got me."

One more kiss, then they got up and ready for work.


	8. Chapter 8

_[Once again thank you so much for your friendly reviews. This chapter takes us back to the case - and the end is in sight]_

In the office, Jay and Hailey didn't have any time to think about their relationship anyway. They were pushed right into the investigation, which felt good.

Adam had found out that Booth had talked on the phone to someone with a burner phone several times . That phone couldn't be located, but they assumed it was Armstrong's. He was still busy checking all connections Armstrong had.

Voight had decided to drive up to Stateville prison to interrogate Booth. He wouldn't go alone, and wanted to take Kim.

"Sarge, let me go," Hailey pushed, but Voight wouldn't have that.

"No, Hailey. Anyone but you or Halstead." he said. "You are too close to him."

"Exactly, Sarge. I'm close to him," Hailey answered. "I know Booth, I know what triggers him."

"Hailey, this is too personal. Even if you trigger him, I don't want him to get any more power over you."

Jay nodded. "Hailey, he's right. You should stay here."

Hailey's first impulse was "_so now he's my boyfriend he thinks he can tell me what to do?"_ But she quickly corrected herself. No, Jay didn't want to tell her what to do. He was being rational, not as her boyfriend but as her partner. He knew Booth, he knew what Booth had done. And he knew that Booth targeted her weak spots, that Booth was good at this. Still, she protested: "But he thinks he has control over me, I can use that."

"Booth thinks he has control over all women," Jay argued. "Let Kim work with that." He looked at Kim. "You're both tough, but she doesn't have the baggage you have with him."

Hailey shrugged, breathing hard. She knew Jay and Voight were right, but she still didn't like to stay behind.

She looked from Voight to Jay to Kim. "Kim, be careful," she said. "He toys with you."

"I know." Kim answered. "I'll be fine."

"Jay, you're in charge until we're back," Voight said, before he and Kim left the precinct.

* * *

Jay and Hailey settled at their desks, to check everything they had on Armstrong.

As soon as Adam went into the break room for a coffee, Hailey exchanged a quick look with Jay, and then followed Adam.

"What's up?" Adam asked, noticing Hailey behind him closing the door.

"Adam, can we talk, please?"

"Sure," Adam looked at Hailey, thinking. "What is it?"

"Adam, you know that I like to keep my personal life private, but..."

Adam looked at her. "I know, Hailey." He paused, and after a few seconds said, "It's you and Jay, right?"

"Yeah," Hailey nodded. "How did you know?"

"Everyone could see that coming, Hailey."

"Adam... "

"It's fine, Hailey." Adam assured her. "What do you want to hear?"

"I don't know," Hailey answered, looking to the floor. "I guess I just wanted to tell you personally. Not make the same mistake twice."

"Appreciated."

* * *

Meanwhile Kevin had found something in the police databases. Everyone gathered around his computer.

"Look at this," he said. "Armstrong has an ex-wife and a kid. Buried deep in the databases, but there's also a last known address."

"OK, you and Adam, go and talk to them," Jay decided. "Hailey and I will go through the rest of the evidence."

Kevin and Adam were gone within seconds, and shortly after that, they had a visitor. Kelly Severide walked up the stairs.

"Hey man," Jay greeted him.

"Hey," Kelly nodded. "I've got the report on the arson in Hailey's house. I thought I'd bring it personally."

"Thank you," Hailey said with a smile. "Any news in there?"

"Nothing specific. The two arsonists, this Armstrong and his buddy, didn't do a good job, thank God. If they had spread the accelerant in another spot, if they had been more thorough, your house would be in ruins now. We found enough evidence. They entered through the kitchen window, then used the accelerant and set it on fire. Sloppy work. All the details are here."

"And what about Hailey's house?" Jay asked, placing his hand on her arm.

"She can start the refurbishment in a few days. The structure is ok," Kelly assured them. "But the kitchen isn't in a good state, and the rest of the ground floor is in desperate need of cleaning and painting. I hope your insurance covers the damage."

"Yes, it does." Hailey said. "I already called them. Thank you, Kelly."

"We will all help you, you know that, Hailey," Jay said quietly.

"I'll check in the fire station," Kelly added. "I'm sure the guys will lend a hand, too."

"Thank you." Hailey repeated.

* * *

When Kelly was gone, Jay read the report carefully while waiting for Kevin and Adam to return. He didn't find any actual new information, just confirmation of what they had known before.

Hailey had another thought: "Jay, we could use the video footage of Voight's interview with Booth," she suggested. "I might see things they don't. And furthermore we could use all footage from security cameras we have on Booth. Anything. Anyone he talked to, any visitors."

"You're right," Jay agreed. "I'll call Voight, just in case he doesn't think of this."

Voight agreed immediately, they would bring all footage they would get hold of. They didn't expect any problems from the prison personnel.

In the meantime, they made some progress – Kevin and Adam came back from visiting the former Ms. Armstrong with news.

Adam printed a few photos, put them on the whiteboard, then started explaining. "The ex-wife gave us these photos," Adam pointed at a few snapshots. "These are two of Armstrong's friends. The photos are a few years old, but they might help nevertheless. She didn't like these guys, and she thinks they may be involved. While she doesn't have an address for her ex or for these guys, we now have two more names to run through the databases. The one on the right is Dave Williams, the other is Harry Millner. The three of them hung out all the time, she told us."

"OK, check all databases for these guys, check for any known associates, last known addresses, credit cards, cars etc. Let's check with our CI's, if they know any of the men." Jay decided. "Hopefully we find Armstrong through these guys."

* * *

For the next few hours, the team reviewed data, drove around the city to talk to CI's, but with only a few results. They found an old address for Harry Millner, but decided to wait until Voight and Burgess would be back before they would check this out.

They didn't have to wait too long for their Sergeant's return. In the afternoon, he and Burgess came back into the office.

"Sarge, any news?" Hailey approached Voight eagerly.

Voight shook his head. "Not a lot, as expected." He showed them a memory stick. "We've got all surveillance footage here; we need to go through it."

"What did Booth say?" Hailey insisted.

"He made fun of us," Kim said. "I guess he did exactly what you expected. He was being sarcastic and nasty, but didn't give out any information. He clearly knew what happened to you, Hailey, tried to play us. Man, he's creepy."

Hailey just nodded.

"Any progress here, Jay?"

"Yes, Sarge," Jay answered. "We found Armstrong's ex-wife. Ruzek and Atwater paid her a visit, and she gave us names and pictures of two of his associates." Jay pointed at the whiteboard. "For one of these guys we have an old address. That's all we have for the moment."

"Thanks, Jay." Voight said. "Let's have a brief look at the surveillance videos. Booth had a visitor three weeks ago. The name didn't ring a bell, but it still might be interesting."

They gathered around the computer screen to watch this video. And it turned out to be interesting indeed. The face resembled the photo of one of Armstrong's associates, Harry Millner.

"Burgess, Atwater, Ruzek," Voight ordered. "You go to the address. If Millner is there, bring him in. Upton, Halstead, you go through the video footage. Perhaps you see something in Booth's behavior that helps. Also, I don't want you out with these guys. They shouldn't know you're back with Intelligence too soon."

Hailey and Jay sat down at Hailey's desk to review the video footage, while Voight went to his office. When the screen showed Booth's face, Hailey shivered involuntarily. Jay put a hand on her shoulder. She gave him a quick grateful smile. Jay felt how tense Hailey was, he wanted to make sure she'd be ok, so he kept his hand where it was. They didn't notice that Voight watched them.

After a while, Voight came back from his office. "You're done with the videos?" He registered that Jay didn't pull his hand off Hailey's shoulder and had to suppress a grin.

"I want to go through it again tomorrow." Hailey answered. "Until now it's just the same old creepy Booth."

"OK," Voight replied. "The others will bring in Millner. I don't want you around when he's here. I will perform the interrogation. Call it a day. Jay, please take Hailey home. It's been a tough few days."

"Copy that, Sarge," Jay answered, slowly pulling back from Hailey. In this moment he knew, Voight had connected the dots.


	9. Chapter 9

Hailey and Jay arrived at Jay's house a while later, with a few groceries. Perhaps he could make Hailey talk while cooking, Jay thought. Still, he didn't want to push her, but he would not let it go. Hailey had to talk about all this.

When they stood in the kitchen, preparing vegetables, seafood and pasta, Jay casually started the conversation. "So, what are you planning to do with your place when you can get back in?"

"I'll need a new kitchen, so we will have to go shopping," Hailey answered.

"We?"

"Did I say we?" Hailey smiled briefly. "Yes, we... if you don't mind."

"Why should I mind?" Jay smiled back at her. "Of course I'll come and make your decisions more difficult. And..."

"Jay, if you want to ask anything, just do so, ok?"

He laughed as Hailey rolled her eyes dramatically. "Hailey, I want to know how you really are. And don't bite my head off."

She nodded. "I won't. What do you think how I am, Jay? Not great. I'm so glad you're here, because I'm not sure I would manage all alone. And still, it's hard."

"You would manage, Hailey." Jay quietly said. "If anyone can, it's you."

"Don't give me too much credit, Jay." Her voice became weaker. "I feel lost, Jay. Before, Booth only knew my undercover identity, he was a case. But now he knows my name, my address. He invaded MY life. That's scary. He set my home on fire. It's... I don't know."

Jay looked into Hailey's face. He slowly nodded. "It is scary, irritating. I understand. Be assured, he will not be able to harm you anymore. We won't let that happen. I won't let that happen."

Hailey looked at him, then walked closer to him, leaned against him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I know, Jay. I know. And I will be fine. Just give me some time."

"All the time you need," he replied, embracing her firmly. "And whatever you need, please tell me."

Hailey buried her head in his chest, and they just stood there for a while.

* * *

When dinner was ready, they sat down on the couch, ate the seafood pasta, drank some wine.

"It's good to be back with Intelligence," Hailey said when she had finished eating. "I was so afraid IAD would bury us, you know?"

"I know, Hailey," Jay agreed. "It was a bizarre situation. What would you have done if we had lost our jobs?"

"I have no idea," she admitted. "I have never wanted to be anything but a cop, so I don't know. And you?"

"Same here. The only other thing I've ever done was the military. And I don't want to go back there, even if it were possible. The time was important, but I can't go back."

Hailey nodded. "I see that. And I wouldn't want you to go back overseas." Weak smile.

Jay smiled back. "And that."

"So we would probably have ended in some dodgy private security job," Hailey said. "Good thing we still have our jobs."

"Now we just have to get Booth's associates, and then we can close this chapter."

Hailey looked at him, thinking. "Yeah. This will haunt me for a while, I'm afraid."

"I know, Hailey. Whatever I can do to help, I'm here."

Hailey only nodded, put her hand on his.

"I'm tired, let's go to bed, ok?"

Hailey fell asleep in Jay's arms and woke up the next morning exactly like that. Jay hadn't moved, had held her tight. She felt safe with him. It was a strange, irritating feeling. She was usually strong, needed her space and dealt with problems on her own; but after all that had happened, she needed someone, she needed Jay, to feel safe.

* * *

When they arrived at 21st, they wanted to go straight upstairs, but Trudy Platt stopped them. "How are you holding up?" she asked Hailey, when they came to her desk.

"Not great, but I will be fine," Hailey answered, surprisingly honest. She didn't feel the need to cover it up with Trudy. "I still feel lost somehow. But we will get these guys, and then I can go back to normal, I hope. With everyone's help."

Trudy nodded. "They brought someone in last night, perhaps there is new information already. You've got the best unit working on it, that should help. And if not, I'll hold Halstead here personally responsible. Jay, I need to talk to you." Trudy turned towards Jay.

Hailey laughed out loud, Jay looked a bit irritated.

"I'll go upstairs, Jay," Hailey briefly touched his chest and walked up the stairs.

He stared at Trudy. "Why exactly am I responsible?"

"Don't do that, Halstead," Trudy rolled her eyes. "Don't treat me like I'm stupid. I've got eyes." She leaned over her desk, her voice lowering. "Jay, it's good that you watch out for her. Just don't make the same mistakes you made before."

"What?"

"Jay! You know exactly what I mean." Trudy said. "Don't let your relationship make your work more difficult. Don't give your boss a reason to ask either of you to look for another unit."

"Sarge, I learned that lesson," Jay quietly answered, clearly uncomfortable. "This is different."

"Yes, it is." Trudy agreed. "You have changed. You are good for her. And Upton... she's good for you. She seems to bring out the best in you."

"The knight in shining armor?" Jay laughed softly, to bring the conversation back to a lighter mood.

"Something like that. Just be careful, Halstead."

"I will be. Thanks, Sarge."

Jay went upstairs, thinking about his talk with Trudy. Everyone knew already? They had seen it coming? So, he wasn't that good at hiding things. Great. Best undercover cop ever.

He entered the office, eying everyone self-consciously. But nobody acted different from before.

The team already discussed the arrest they made yesterday. Adam stood at the whiteboard and stopped talking when Jay arrived.

"Talking about me?" Jay joked. "Or why do you stop?"

"I wanted him to wait for you before he gave us the summary," Voight answered for Adam. "Millner was brought in last night, and we had a first interrogation."

"We found him under the address and brought him in," Adam explained. "At first he denied even knowing Booth, but when we showed him the video footage, he confessed to that. Of course, he claims he only got some information for Booth, nothing else. But we have him in a holding cell and will have another go later today. Not sure how deep his involvement is."

"Well, at least he transferred information from Booth to Armstrong and back," Kevin added. "Because why else should he have visited Booth. We'll get to that again."

"Atwater, you and me will interrogate him again, please bring him upstairs," Voight ordered. "Upton, you go through the video of Booth's interrogation again slowly, concentrated. You need assistance?"

Hailey shook her head. "I'll manage, Sarge."

"Good," Voight concluded. "Ruzek, Burgess. You check with your CI's in the area once again. And Halstead, please talk to Severide again, find out if there is anything special about the accelerant or the fire in general, anything that we can trace back to Armstrong."

"Copy that," all three answered.

Jay quickly looked at Hailey, hoping she would be fine watching the video. But he couldn't stay trying to protect her. She wouldn't like that and neither would Voight.

* * *

Hailey concentrated on the video, with a pen and paper beside her. She would write down everything she noticed, even the smallest bit. Booth was clever, he memorized everything, and with him every detail was important. She felt uncomfortable watching the footage, but quickly she concentrated so much that everything else was forgotten. Booth's face clearly showed how he made fun of Voight and Burgess, how he toyed with them. This very slight sarcastic grin was there all the time. His eyes noticed every reaction, memorized every word. And suddenly Hailey noticed that he clearly was involved. Again and again he spread the slightest hints about Hailey, about her address, her job, her partner, in his words. Only tiny bits, hardly worth mentioning. But Hailey knew. It might not be evidence for a jury or a judge, but for her it was crystal clear.

Unfortunately he didn't react at all when Armstrong's name was mentioned, his face remained motionless. Neither did he react in any way when Voight talked about Johnson. Hailey collected all the small hints, wrote them down. Then she switched off the video. Stood up.

"Coffee?" Hailey flinched when she heard Trudy Platt's voice.

"Voight said you'd probably be alone up here, so I figured I'll distract you a bit."

"A coffee would be great." Hailey weakly said.

"Did you find anything in the video?" Trudy asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

Hailey nodded, showed her what she had written down. "It might not be much, but it shows he is behind this."

"Good. So we need to make sure that he won't be able to do anything like that in the future anymore. I'll talk to Voight, we need to inform Stateville."

"I wonder if that's even possible, with Booth."

Trudy just looked at her for a while.

"This really shook you up." she remarked.

"Yeah."

"Listen, I won't give you the "everything is fine" speech, but things will be back to normal eventually. Lean on your colleagues, your friends, Jay. You're not alone in this."


	10. Chapter 10

_[Only a few more chapters to wrap this all up. Enjoy]_

When he arrived at the Firehouse, Chief Boden waited for Jay.

"How's Upton?" Bowden asked.

"As good as can be," Jay answered. "At least she can move back in her house shortly. Listen, can I talk to Severide once again?"

"Of course, go inside. And before I forget – Kelly said that she might need help with the house. Just give us the date and we'll be there."

"Thank you, Chief," Jay said. "I know she'll appreciate that."

Kelly approached Jay. "Hey buddy. Anything I can do?"

"Yes, let's go through all the details again, please." Jay requested. "I need to get as much information as possible. We need to nail these guys."

"Let's go to my office."

In Kelly's office they discussed all the findings once again. The accelerant was pretty much standard, there was no way to trace it back to Armstrong or his friends. But Kelly had found something else. A metal lighter with an engraving. It was badly burned, almost destroyed, as it was found right in the spot where the fire had started, and part of the engraving was melted. But they recognized a few letters, ..._avid Wil..._

"At first I didn't notice the lighter, it was buried under rubble," Kelly explained. "Then we thought it was Upton's. Once everything was cleared out, I found this thing and cleaned it. That's when I realized it might be important. Maybe one of our very unsophisticated arsonists dropped it."

"Armstrong's ex-wife gave us two names." Jay reflected. "One was Harry Millner. Ruzek and Atwater brought this guy in yesterday. The other was... I think he was called Dave Williams."

"Well, the engraving could have said David Williams," Kelly suggested.

"Are there any fingerprints?"

"No, I'm afraid that if there were some, I cleaned them off. But I didn't notice anything." Kelly answered, handed the bag with the lighter to Jay. "Not sure if the chain of evidence has been kept, but you should have it."

"Thanks, Kelly," Jay said. "And thanks for organizing help for Hailey."

"Not a problem. I'm sure she wants to move back into her own home from your couch."

Jay couldn't hide a grin.

"OK, or not," Kelly laughed, when he saw Jay's grin. "But still..."

Jay smiled more openly. "She will be glad to have her own house back, I'm sure. Everything else..."

Kelly nodded, didn't want to go into relationship talks either.

On his way out, Jay was stopped by Stella, who was on her way to talk to Kelly. "Hey, how's Hailey?" she asked.

"She'll be ok," Jay answered. "It just takes some time."

"I heard..." Stella looked into Jay's eyes. "It's a tough situation. I hope you will find everyone quickly. Good thing you're there for her. Don't let her push you away, ok?"

Jay looked at her, a bit irritated.

"I've got my experience in that field," she just said.

"We're good," Jay just said. He didn't want to talk about his relationship with Hailey to others just yet. He didn't want to hide it, and didn't hide it, but he didn't want to discuss it with just everybody.

Stella nodded. "Tell her I said hi. We can all grab a drink at Molly's together when this is over."

* * *

Back at the district, Voight and Atwater had finished their second interrogation. The unit assembled in the office to gather all new findings.

"So, we confronted Millner with all we know, and finally he admitted that he is involved." Voight started. "We've got his confession. He was the contact between Booth and Armstrong. As people in Stateville would have recognized Armstrong's face, Booth talked to Millner. Booth had some information on all three guys, Millner, Williams and Armstrong, so he blackmailed all them into helping him. Armstrong was a dirty cop, as we know. The connection between him and Booth was much stronger than we knew, however. All three guys were on Booth's payroll, let evidence vanish, or sometimes witnesses. So Booth forced them to beat up Johnson, set your house on fire, Upton. Millner is getting a deal, and he is currently writing down everything."

"Do we have contact details for Williams and Armstrong?" Jay asked. "Where can we find them?"

"We're getting to that, Jay," Voight answered.

"I've got some more evidence," Jay added, showing the others the lighter Kelly Severide had given him.

"Good, some backup in case they all put the blame on each other. This thing might come in handy," Voight nodded. "Millner doesn't have current addresses for the others. They have contact only through burner phones or meetings in abandoned factories or warehouses. Burgess, Ruzek, what did you find out?"

"Not much," Kim answered. "One of my CI's told me that some guys asked around about Intelligence, but that's all from my side. Nobody knows these men."

"Same here," Adam added. "They keep out of everything, just do their own thing. One of my CI's knew Armstrong, but that was long ago. He confirmed that Armstrong had the reputation of being very dirty."

"So, we make Millner call them, ask for a meeting." Jay said.

"We will do that," Voight agreed. "But first – Hailey, did you check the video surveillance again? Anything?"

"Yes, Sarge." Hailey answered. "I checked everything. Booth clearly is behind all this. He doesn't say it, of course, but there are a lot of hints, tiny bits that point towards me and Intelligence." She took her list and explained in detail what she found. They all agreed that she was right, but that it wasn't enough hard evidence. And Booth was behind bars anyway.

"What is it, Hailey?" Voight asked, when she was done. "You don't seem satisfied."

"No, Sarge. I am not," Hailey admitted. "It seems this investigation is just dangling along, you know. Nothing really happens. Something is missing."

"What do you mean?" Voight asked again.

"Boss, I think I know what Hailey means," Jay stepped in. "If I may."

Hailey nodded.

"This started so badly, with attacks on Hailey, her house. And now... it's kind of slow. Interrogations, data checks, CI talks... "

"Real police work, Jay." Voight replied.

"I know, but... as stupid as it sounds – it's so slow. So … usually we're more active."

"Where's your patience, Jay? Don't worry, there will be some action soon enough," Voight briefly raised his eyebrows. "Ruzek, Atwater: You two go back to Millner, make it clear that he must arrange a meeting with Armstrong and Williams. Let him use the burner phone we took off him. Jay, my office."

"Copy that," Kevin and Adam said, while Jay looked a bit irritated. Would he now receive the "no relationships within my unit"-talk? Well, they would get that one eventually anyway. He exchanged a glance and a weak smile with Hailey and followed Voight into his office, closed the door behind him.

"Boss?"

"Sit down, Jay," Voight said.

Jay sat down.

"Jay, how is Hailey holding up?"

"OK, I guess."

"Do I need to worry for her? She seems pretty much ok, but she hides well, as we know."

Jay smiled softly. "Don't I know that." He paused, thinking a few seconds before answering his sergeant's question. "She's not fine, no matter what she says. It shook her up badly. Booth is her nemesis."

"Does she get all the help she needs?"

Jay nodded. "I'm doing all I can," he admitted. "We have been talking about it. She allows me to be there for her, and she's opened up more than I expected."

"Good." Voight replied to Jay. "That's really good."

"Once we've got these bastards, she'll recover."

"Just let me know when you notice anything, Jay. If she needs more help than you can give, we must react quickly."

Jay nodded again. "Of course, Sarge. Thank you."

When he sat at his desk again, Hailey rolled her chair over to him. "Are we ok?" she asked.

Jay smiled reassuringly. "We are. Voight wanted to know how you feel. Nothing else."

"And what did you say?"

"The truth, Hailey."

They didn't have the time to talk privately any longer, because in that moment Kevin and Adam were back in.

"We've got something," Adam said, when Kevin had opened the door to Voight's office.

"Millner just talked to Williams on the phone. The three of them will meet in an hour. Here's the address."

"And how do we know this isn't a set-up for us?" Kim asked cautiously.

"Millner knows we are watching closely," Kevin explained. "He only gets a deal if he cooperates."

"OK, gear up," Voight said. "Let's get them."


	11. Chapter 11

_[This story is nearing the end, thank you once again for the very, very kind reviews]_

The team got ready for their job, bulletproof vests, guns, everything.

"Do you want me to come, Sarge?" Hailey asked a bit insecure.

Voight looked at her, thought for a minute. "If you feel up to it, I have no objections. But don't play hero, Upton. If you feel uncomfortable, let us know and retreat."

"OK, Sarge. Thanks." Hailey answered. She was sick of being weak, of not striking back. Now it was finally time to be back in action, to do something about this whole mess.

Millner was equipped with a wire, and additionally with a GPS tracker in his shoe, of which he wasn't aware, just to make sure he didn't try to run.

Kevin and Adam brought him to the nearest train line. The unit didn't need to discuss their operation in detail. They had checked the target area online, knew what it looked like, where to position themselves, and would take everything from there.

They drove off in three separate cars.

While in the car, Jay eyed Hailey curiously, but didn't say a word. She noticed, and after a while, she couldn't hold back.

"Jay, just ask," she said with a half-smile.

He smiled back at her. "I was just wondering if you are ok with this."

Hailey was serious again. "Yes, I am, Jay. I need to do this. Otherwise, this whole thing will not be over for me, you know? I need the closure."

Jay nodded.

"Jay," Hailey added. "Thanks for not asking Voight to let me stay behind."

"I wouldn't dare," he laughed, only half joking.

"Good," Hailey laughed.

* * *

Once they arrived near the abandoned garage where Millner was supposed to meet with Armstrong and Williams, the unit spread out. Hailey with Kim, Adam and Kevin, Jay and Voight. They hid so that every entrance to the building was under surveillance, all a bit nervous if Millner would keep his part of the deal.

In the end, Millner came walking along the road.

Looking around, he entered the building. As long as the unit had been watching, nobody had entered before, but still Adam and Kevin came from the back, just in case anyone had arrived earlier.

The other four didn't have to wait long. Two people arrived at the scene. One of them was Armstrong; Jay recognized him. The other looked familiar, and he recognized Williams from the photo back in the office.

"Targets at the scene," Voight said into his radio. "Hold back."

Armstrong and Williams opened the door and entered the garage. The unit came closer; Kim and Hailey entered through the back entrance, Jay and Voight approached the front door.

Jay carefully watched through a dirty window, nodded. "Front room is clear, we can go in."

Voight nodded. "Wait! Let's hear what they have to say."

Both Voight and Jay were connected to Millner's wire; the others could hear what was said from where they were standing.

"What's going on?" A voice asked. "Why do we need to meet?"

"The cop," Millner started slowly. "The one we…"

"What's going on?" The voice insisted without giving away anything.

"I saw Upton," Millner said again. "They are investigating the fire you planted at her house."

"Wow," the voice interrupted him. "What do you mean?"

"Come on," Millner insisted – a bit too much for Jay. "You know what I'm talking about. I might not have been there, but I gave you the instructions."

No answer.

"The cop is reinstated." Millner said. "We need to do something."

"So we need to find something else, otherwise Booth will have us," another voice stepped in.

Voight and Jay listened up. Now it got interesting.

"You know what Booth will do if Upton gets away." Millner insisted once more.

"What do you suggest then?"

"You tell me, Joe." Millner answered.

"Let's get to her through this other cop. Halstead," the voice, Joe Armstrong, replied. "I have watched them, they are together most of the time. Dave?"

"I don't know," Dave replied. „This is getting too dangerous."

"So you prefer having everything we did out in the open?" Armstrong said. "Who do you think is more dangerous, Booth or some cop?"

"We've got enough," Voight decided. "Hit it."

Immediately the whole team left their hiding places, stormed forward, guns drawn.

"On your knees, hands behind your heads!" Jay and Adam yelled, approaching the three men.

Millner and Williams obeyed, got on their knees, hands behind their heads. Armstrong, however, saw a chance to escape and ran to the side. A few shots were fired, but didn't hit him. While he was putting handcuffs on Millner, Jay saw from the corner of his eye how Kim and Hailey followed Armstrong into the dark. He cuffed Millner, pushed him on the floor, stood up. "Guys, watch him," he yelled in the direction of Adam and Kevin, who were busy with Williams.

"Go, Jay," Voight yelled back at him.

Jay nodded, ran in the direction where the three had vanished. He heard shots, then a muffled cry. He doubled his speed.

"Get down!" He heard Kim's voice. "Down on the floor!"

Hailey! Jay looked around in panic. When he entered another room, he saw Kim crouching over Armstrong, gun at his head.

"Where's Hailey?" he yelled.

"She was right behind me," Kim answered.

Jay approached Kim, searching the floor. Then he saw Hailey lying on the floor next to a wall. He was there within seconds, kneeling beside her. There was blood on her arm, but it didn't look too bad. Yet Hailey had her eyes closed, was unconscious. He ripped arm of her shirt off. A flesh wound, not big. But still, why was she unconscious?

"Hailey," he yelled. "Wake up!"

She sighed, slowly opened her eyes. "Ouch," she said, grimacing. "What?"

"Hailey, you were shot," Jay answered softly, relieved. "Just a graze, though."

Hailey touched her head with her uninjured hand. "Ouch," she repeated. "I guess I hit my head. Stupid me."

Jay pulled her towards him, into a firm embrace. "Hailey, for a second…"

"Ouch," she repeated weakly, but this time with a smile in her voice.

"Don't do that to me, Hailey," Jay whispered, held her close.

"Would you help me get up?"

"Sure. We'll need to have you checked out."

Slowly, cautiously Jay pulled Hailey up, first to a sitting position, then helped her stand up. "Let's go."

Hailey leaned onto Jay, exhausted, and before he could move, she wrapped her good arm around him, pulled him closer. "Thank you, Jay."

"Any time." He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to touch her injured arm, then smiled at her. "Don't you do that to me, Hailey. I love you. I don't want to lose you."

"You didn't lose me, Jay." She replied softly. "I'm here. With you, always." She pulled his head down to hers and softly kissed him. "I won't leave you, Jay."

Jay looked at her, his green eyes locking with hers. They kissed again.

* * *

Of course their moment was interrupted soon enough, when they heard footsteps approaching.

"Hailey, Jay! Where are you?" Several voices called out.

"We're coming," Jay yelled back. Slowly and reluctantly he pulled out of the embrace, yet held Hailey tight, as they walked towards the others.

"Hailey, what happened?" Adam asked, worried.

"She was shot in the arm," Kim answered. "But don't worry, it's only superficial."

Jay looked at her. Yes, Kim had heard all they had said. OK then.

"She hit her head," he added. "Please call the paramedics, I want her checked."

"Jay, it's ok," Hailey tried to protest, but the others wouldn't have it.

"Paramedics are on their way," Voight said. "And you do whatever they tell you, Hailey. Adam, Kevin, Kim – call for assistance, so that we can bring the offenders to 21st. I'll stay with Hailey. I want to know what the paramedics say. I'll join you for the interrogation asap."

"Copy that."

They assembled the three cuffed offenders, waiting for patrol officers to assist them.

After having checked with the guys, Kim approached Jay and Hailey. "Hailey, I'm sorry I couldn't prevent that," she said.

Hailey held up her hand, stopping Kim. "There was nothing you could have done, Kim. Don't worry."

"So…" Kim said slowly.

Jay grinned weakly. "Yes, Kim."

"What?"

"Don't do it, Kim," Jay laughed now. "Yes, we are dating. That's what you wanted to ask, right? It's ok, no secrets."

Kim nodded, a barely hidden grin in her face, looking from one to the other. "Finally." She turned around and walked across the room to the others.

"And now some dollar bills will change their owners," Jay remarked.

Hailey laughed.

* * *

Slowly they went outside, where Hailey sat down, and waited for the paramedics. Jay watched her closely, still worried.

Meanwhile more cops had arrived, who helped Adam, Kevin and Kim to bring the three men to the district. Voight stayed back with Jay and Hailey.

And finally the ambulance arrived. The paramedic quickly took care of Hailey's arm, cleaned the wound, put a bandage on it.

"The wound is not serious," he said. "Now let's have a look at your head."

"I'm ok," Hailey said.

"Dizziness? Nausea?" the paramedic asked.

"No, nothing," Hailey insisted.

"Yeah, but you lost consciousness," the paramedic disagreed. "It looks ok, but I'd rather have you checked out at Med. You should stay there overnight, just in case."

"Oh, please!" Hailey protested. "That's not necessary. It's just a bruise, nothing more."

The paramedic looked from Hailey to Jay to Voight and back. Shrugged.

"I can take care of her," Jay offered. "I can watch Hailey, and if anything happens, we'll drive to Med immediately."

"OK then," the paramedic gave in. "If you insist."

Voight grumbled, but didn't interfere. "I'll go back to the district now."

"We're coming, too," Hailey decided. "I want to be in on the interrogation."

"Oh no, Hailey, you won't."

"Why not, Sarge?"

"Because you're still in it too deep." Voight said. "You can't interrogate them. We need an airtight case."

"Then let me at least watch."

"OK, you can watch. But don't enter, don't talk to the offenders. And if you feel sick, you go home immediately!" Voight ended the discussion, pointing at Jay. "Jay, I hold you responsible."


	12. Chapter 12

_[This is the last chapter already. I got some sort of a sequel in my head already, but need to work on the details. So more Upstead in the making; currently I enjoy writing Upstead too much to stop.  
__Thanks for reading and again thanks so much for your feedback]_

* * *

Back at the district, Jay tried this best not to fuss over Hailey. She was determined to be in the office and to be there when the case would be wrapped. To be honest, she wasn't feeling all that great, but she tried not to show it. Jay noticed, however, but didn't mention it.

Voight and Kim were in interrogation room 1 with Armstrong; Jay and Hailey were next door, watching and listening.

At first, Armstrong didn't say a word, just stared at the wall. But Voight didn't have that, he sat down very close to Armstrong, hand on his shoulder close to his neck.

"Listen," he said, threat in his voice. "You were a cop once, you know how this works. We've got you, and if you don't say anything you can only make it worse. What did Booth do? The more you tell us, the better deal you get."

Slowly, Armstrong's resistance seemed to crumble, until finally he talked.

He confirmed what they already knew. He had been on Booth's payroll when he was still a cop, tampered with evidence and witnesses. He had lost his job, when part of it was uncovered. And now that Booth was in jail, Booth had blackmailed him into executing his plan. Booth wanted revenge on Hailey. Johnson was just a welcome victim. Someone Booth didn't like. Armstrong painted a menacing picture of Booth. He was so focused on his revenge, that he didn't fear the consequences, that he was willing to do everything to accomplish it.

Just like Intelligence had already figured out, Armstrong was the one who had taken Johnson from his cell, brought him outside and had beaten him up together with Williams. He had also tampered with the surveillance cameras.

Hailey sighed. She was cleared of all suspicion.

Armstrong also confessed the arson. When Hailey heard that, she turned towards the door.

"Wait, Hailey," Jay tried to stop her. "You can't go in there."

"I didn't intend to," she answered. "I'm done now."

"Want to check in on the others?"

Kevin and Adam were in the other interrogation room with Williams.

"Good idea," Hailey agreed with Jay.

This interrogation went quite straight forward, Williams confessed everything. The brain behind everything was Armstrong, both Williams and Millner were only his sidekicks, no responsibility, no brains required.

* * *

When Hailey had heard enough, they returned to their office to find Trudy Platt waiting for them.

"Case closed?" she asked.

"Yes, case closed," Hailey confirmed. "Thank you, Sarge. Thank you for all your support."

"Don't mention it," Trudy just said. "We all knew you were innocent."

"That helped a lot. And say thank you to Potter, please."

"I'll do that." Trudy paused for a moment. "Johnson just died. The head injuries were too significant. So there won't be any deal for Armstrong."

"And what consequences will there be for Booth?" Jay asked. "He's in jail already, I get that, but we can't let him just get away with this."

"Voight and I pulled some strings," Trudy answered. "He will be transferred to another prison with an even higher security ranking, to another state. He won't be able to harm you anymore."

"Good," Hailey just said.

For a moment, Jay and Hailey were alone in the office, and Jay put his hands on her shoulders. "It's over, Hailey."

"Yeah, it is. Jay. Without you I wouldn't have managed."

* * *

The interrogations were closed and the unit agreed to meet at Molly's later to celebrate.

Hailey decided to go shopping before that, so she didn't drive home with Jay immediately. She felt that she needed some new clothes for this occasion. Her first actual official date with Jay, even though the others would be around.

Jay was glad that Hailey was able to unwind a bit, that she was motivated to do something nice for herself. And of course he liked the idea that she wanted to buy something nice for their evening out, for him. He drove home, took a long relaxing shower, and selected some clothes for the evening. Dark denims, a dark grey button-down shirt. His black leather jacket. He couldn't wait for Hailey to come home.

He didn't have to wait long, Hailey's shopping trip didn't take as long as he had expected. She came home with two big bags and an even bigger smile on her face.

"Let me see," he asked, tried to have a look inside, happy about her honest smile. It was good to see her like this, without worries.

"No, no… you have to wait." Playfully she slapped his fingers, then turned around to go upstairs to change. Jay wrapped his arms around her from behind, before she could leave. Planted a kiss on her neck. She leaned back into his embrace, turned her head towards him. "You know, if you keep doing this, we won't leave the house tonight."

"Sounds good," Jay grinned.

Hailey laughed and pulled out of his embrace. "See you later."

With a dramatic sigh Jay stepped back, let himself fall on the couch.

* * *

When Hailey returned, after her shower, dressed in her new clothes, Jay just stared at her. She wore a sleeveless light blue dress, short but not too short, with a revealing neckline, the color matching the color of her eyes, a darker blue short leather jacket and shoes in the same color. Jay's jaw dropped. He slowly stood up. "Wow," he just said. "You look so hot."

"You don't look too shabby yourself," she replied with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissed him.

Jay immediately pulled her closer, kissed her again. "As much as I love your dress, I'd like to get you out of it right now," he whispered.

"I'd love that," Hailey admitted. "But let's keep that thought for later, ok? I really want to see the others."

"Hmm, ok," Jay gave in with an exaggerated pout. "If you insist."

* * *

They entered Molly's holding hands. They didn't want to hide anything, were too relieved, too happy to do that. The rest of the unit was already there. Everyone smiled seeing the two of them so close, and so relaxed about it, but nobody mentioned it.

"How are you, Hailey?" Kevin asked. "Now that everything is over."

"A lot better," she said. "Thank you, guys. Thanks for believing in me."

"Sure," Adam said. "Why wouldn't we?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still not used to this kind of support."

"We're family," Kim just said.

"We couldn't do much in the beginning," Kevin added. "We couldn't all resign, like Jay here."

She squeezed Jay's hand, smiled at him. "Yeah, that was special."

"It's good that you were in this together," Adam remarked. "Well done, Jay."

Jay smiled. "What should I have done? I was in this from the start. And it turned out it was a good decision." He put his arm around Hailey's shoulders, leaned against her.

Voight, at Molly's too this time, looked at them, brows raised slightly.

"Boss?" Hailey asked.

"Ah, nothing," Voight replied.

"Why did Booth want to harm you so bad?" Kim asked Hailey.

"I've been asking myself the same question," Hailey answered. "I guess it's several things. He considers himself the best, the most intelligent, brilliant; and he sees himself above the law. I brought him to jail twice. A woman. He can't forgive himself for letting that happen. He wants to be better than me."

"But he isn't." Jay added. "You showed him."

"We all did," Hailey replied, looking from one of her colleagues to the next. "We all did."

"Hey, sorry to interrupt your moment here," suddenly Kelly Severide's voice came from behind. Jay stepped aside, let him approach the group. "What's up, buddy?"

"Just so you know. We will be at Hailey's house tomorrow morning, 8 am sharp. Our whole shift from firehouse 51 will be there. I think we can get you back in your own house by the end of the weekend."

"Thank you, Kelly," Hailey turned to him. "This is more than I would have imagined. You guys are amazing."

"No problem, always there to help our friends."

"And Intelligence will be there too," Adam added. "Even though I think you're in no hurry to move back."

Hailey and Jay decided not to reply to that, they just grinned.

* * *

They returned home to Jay's house after just two hours. It had been a long day; Hailey had been injured earlier; and Jay insisted to take her home.

When Hailey took off her jacket in his living room and wanted to hug Jay, he held her back.

"Let's check your arm first. We should change the bandage."

Impatiently Hailey rolled her eyes. "It was fine earlier when I took a shower, Jay. New bandage and everything."

"OK then," he gave in. "And what about your head? Do you feel ok?"

"Jay, stop it," she answered softly, and started unbuttoning his shirt. "I'm more than fine. My arm is fine, my head is fine. I just want to do this…"

Jay watched her as she finished unbuttoning his shirt and slid it over his shoulders. Hailey ran her fingers down his chest, kissed him.

"And Jay… I love you too. My knight in shining armor."


End file.
